Disclaimer: I do not own The Phantom of the Opera. Gaston Leroux, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Susan Kay, and others do.

A/N: Oh my God, it's been forever since I updated this phic. A thousand apologies for dropping it. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish it out. I had an onslaught of new ideas and I fully expect to be able to use them. Without further ado, here's Our Today!


Erik awoke with a throbbing headache and to the sounds of voices from the kitchen. He glowered.

Damn him, he thought as he stumbled to the bathroom to splash his face with cold water. Nadir said he wasn't going to bring his lady friend home. Liar.

Vindictively, he left his mask on the bathroom counter. It would serve Nadir right for breaking a promise if his little girlfriend just happened to be frightened out of her wits by a monster and decided to never come back. But Erik had to pause when he entered the hall and could make out what was being said.

"When I was a girl," he heard Meg say sheepishly, "I didn't think that the Opera Ghost slept."

"Hah! Erik's just a man… Although he doesn't like us to know that he needs sleep just like the rest of us."

Whatever were they doing in the kitchen together? It just didn't make sense. Logically, Meg couldn't be Nadir's lady friend. The voice from the other day hadn't been hers, and Erik had spent almost every day in her studio. So she couldn't be… Could she? Erik couldn't help but to feel a curious, peevish sort of emotion, similar to jealousy.

But was Meg stealing his best friend, or was Nadir making a move for his employer? Erik inched into the room quietly. Their backs were to him, so they couldn't see or hear him.

"Well, I suppose that when he wakes, we should act like we don't know."

"Miss Giry," Nadir leaned forward conspiratorially, "I give you my permission to poke lighthearted fun at him. Erik takes himself far too seriously…"

"Unless you have some sort of insane death wish, Meg, don't you dare take his advice," Erik said, causing Meg to jump. Nadir, meanwhile turned to grin at him lazily. Erik scowled at him, and Nadir cast a glance to Meg.

"That's exactly what I mean," he said to her. Then, turning back to Erik, he grinned again. "Good afternoon. It's three o'clock. Did you prick your finger on a poisoned spindle?"

Erik folded his arms. "Oh, indeed. I can only imagine it was your kiss to wake me? Because when I woke, I had this awful taste in my mouth."

Nadir laughed and shook his head. Erik couldn't help but to grin cockily. Meg, meanwhile, was watching the two men with rapt, wide-eyed amusement. It was impossible for Erik not to laugh out loud at the sight of her.

"Are we shocking you?" he asked.

Meg shook her head. "No."

"Oh, good," a beat, then, darkly, "What brings you here? How did you get my address?"

"Nadir invited me."

Erik shot a withering glance at his friend. It seemed Nadir was intent on complicating Erik's life. Wasn't he always? But Erik didn't like the feeling he got in the pit of his stomach. He was—for the first time in a long time—truly suspicious of Nadir. And that was odd. Erik had not claim on Meg, so it shouldn't bother him so much that they were taking tea together. Perhaps taking note of this, or perhaps prompted to defend himself at Erik's accusatory look, Nadir said his name once to get his attention.

"I figured any employer who hired you wasn't quite sure of what they were getting. I gave her a sort of briefing about handling you," Nadir said simply.

So it was worse than Meg being Nadir's mystery woman. This was the equivalent of a mother flaunting naked baby pictures. Thank God Nadir didn't have those. Erik's tense shoulders went slack with resigned irritation.

"Brilliant, he groaned. "What did he tell you?"

Nadir quietly excused himself to his home office.

Yes, that's good, Daroga. Run away. Why ever would you want to face Erik's wrath?

But that left Meg without a lifeline, so Erik expected her to panic. Instead she shrugged and took a sip of her drink.

"He told me that you have the marvelous talent of a genius—and a temper that more than matches." She set the cup down. "I knew that already, so we agreed that I should choreograph to more complex music. Then I asked him if you often try to strangle people for no apparent reason."

Erik bristled and bit his lip. He had yet to sit down, but his bony knuckles went white as he gripped a nearby chair. His newest fear was that Nadir would start investigating him again. That was the last thing he needed. Erik's criminal behavior had long ago ceased, but Meg unleashed a dormant part of him and it frightened him. He was worried about what dirt Nadir and Meg could dig up against him, but even more frightening was that serene smile on Meg's lips.

"He told me pepper spray should do the trick, if you know what I mean."

"D-did he really?" Erik asked in a surprisingly mild tone. He felt backed into a corner and all the anger he felt would do him absolutely no good.

Meg shrugged. "Maybe he did; maybe he didn't. Maybe I didn't even ask him that. But that's for me to know."

Erik's grip on the chair relaxed. "You didn't ask."

Meg shrugged again and Erik moaned, throwing his hands up in the air. He hadn't expected her to be so clever. Perhaps this was a stroke of luck on her part, but Erik had no room to ever underestimate Meg Giry again. For all his frustration, he couldn't help but have a grudging respect. His eyes roved over her curiously. She really, really wasn't the little prune of a dancer he remembered. She was a woman now, petite, but certainly womanly. And a maddening powerhouse. Erik had seen her wielding a baseball bat and he hadn't doubted her ability to do damage then. Now, he knew she could damage with words. But even still, these sort of changes weren't terribly surprising. If Erik recalled correctly, he remembered Meg as a bratty little thing, saucy, rave haired, and graspingly ambitious. Now, she may have been far more accepting and calmer, but she had that stubborn streak, still. But even that wasn't what threw him off. It was her appearance. There would be these moments when he would swear she was Christine, and then she'd turn around and flash him a bold and cocky grin. And Erik knew that she could only be Meg.

Meg coughed lightly and Erik realized he'd been staring. Stranger still, she had been staring back.

"I should go," Meg said hastily, standing up. "Let me go and thank Nadir for inviting me."

"Oh, of course… I'll just… ah… Put your cup away."

"Thanks, Erik. I'll see you tonight."

"Tonight?"

"Tonight… At work…" Meg spoke gently, as if to a slow-witted child.

Erik nodded and watched her disappear into the study for a moment. He tore his eyes away, unwilling to watch any longer.